Teachers Head Back to the Classroom to Learn Sustainability

The Water, Energy, and Waste course, provided by NY Sun Works, puts the teachers back in the classroom, showing them how to engage students in hands-on and innovative ways to preserve the environment.

Shakira Castronovo gives teachers an introduction into the Water, Energy, and Waste course in the greenhouse at P.S. 333 on Monday afternoon. Kristen Meriwether/ Epoch Times

Recycling is not a new word for school children, but teaching students to be interested in larger sustainability issues like urban farming, hydroponic technology, and alternative energy is a newer concept. The Department of Education hopes to change that by introducing a new course to its NYC After School Professional Development catalog.

The Water, Energy, and Waste course, provided by NY Sun Works, puts the teachers back in the classroom, showing them how to engage students in hands-on and innovative ways to preserve the environment.

“We are leaving them a huge mess, so they really have to be interested in it,” Vicki Sando, science teacher at P.S. 41, said at the course orientation on Monday evening. “If you spark that interest at a very young age, when they grow up and leave school, they will still have a connection to it.”